The <a href="http://www.usace.army.mil/" target="_blank">U.S. Army Corp of Engineers</a> has just moved into their state-of-the-art, LEED Gold headquarters located on the site of a previously non-descript brownfield warehouse in Seattle. The $72 million, 209,000 square foot compound, designed by <a href="http://www.zgf.com" target="_blank">ZGF Architects</a> in partnership with <a href="http://www.sellen.com/" target="_blank">Sellen Construction</a>, boasts the latest innovations in green building technology such as geothermal energy, cutting-edge integrated mechanical systems, and an advanced rainwater harvesting system. It also utilizes time-tested low-tech green strategies such as building orientation and dimension to maximize daylight and to take advantage of passive solar design.

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Already on its way to achieve an Energy Star Score of 100, the Federal Center South Building will use one-fifth of the energy used by other air-conditioned buildings in the region.

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This is partly due to the geothermal energy harvested from deep structural piles and partly due to a phase-change thermal storage tank coupled with a ground-loop heat exchanger to capture and reuse thermal energy.

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The floor plan is U-shaped with an atrium in the center, which allows 90% of the building to be daylit. This, coupled with high-efficiency lighting is a big part of its long-term energy-efficient operation.

Besides energy efficiency, USACE and the design-build team employed other strategies to achieve a LEED Gold rating, ones they hope will push them over the top to a Platinum rating.

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They restored half of the 46-acre site from the original paved surfaces to permeable green spaces, allowing for greener storm water management and reduced Urban Heat Island effect.

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They used 300,000 board feet of reclaimed structural timber and decking from the old warehouse in the new building. And they installed a 25,000 gallon cistern collects rainwater from the rooftop and provides water for flushing toilets and irrigation.

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The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has just moved into their state-of-the-art, LEED Gold headquarters located on the site of a previously non-descript brownfield warehouse in Seattle. The $72 million, 209,000 square foot compound, designed by ZGF Architects in partnership with Sellen Construction, boasts the latest innovations in green building technology such as geothermal energy, cutting-edge integrated mechanical systems, and an advanced rainwater harvesting system. It also utilizes time-tested low-tech green strategies such as building orientation and dimension to maximize daylight and to take advantage of passive solar design.